Re: frustrated already!

May 10, 2004

> Ok, just finished week 1 of BFL...and did a POOR job ... How horrible!

> Saturday was so busy I just ate when I could and didn't do well.

> Still ran 2.5 miles though. So...needless to say...I'm starting all

> over again this week...

Noooooooooo! I often see women coming on here saying this is the

second, third or fourth time they've started their first challenge

(I'm one of them). But I don't think the idea of " re-starting " is

beneficial to us. Maybe if you plain old stopped everything for

several weeks, but " re-starting " after a less than spot-on week is a

very negative approach in my mind. We've all had bad workouts, bad

meals, bad days, bad weeks, a bad month. Being less than perfect

shouldn't require you to return to " start. " Rather I think we should

build on those " bad " experiences - learn from them and find ways to

improve. The first few weeks of BFL are really a learning experience

- you are doing so many new things. Just keep marking your progress

forward.

May 10, 2004

Excellent advice Seattle Ladie!

I concur! You are on week 2 Zap (I'll call you that becasue I don't

know your real name).

I restarted BFL 5 times over 5 years before I completed one

challenge. It was completely detrimental because not only is it

harder to make that commitement over and over again feeling that you

have previously failed but for me it took me on the slippery yoyo

dieting slope. By the time I started challenge 5 I weighed 195, in

1999 when I started cahllenge one I weighed 155, Scary isn't it!

Don't do this to yourself.

As for food yep you need to mix it up. I use salsa and balsamic

vinegar daily. I eat my chicken breasts cold on a bed of greens, and

I use BBQ suace when I cook them.

Plan! Plan! Plan! Eat before you go to an event, pack your lunches

the night before. If you must eat out choose wisely, ask the server

if they can customize your meal, I have yet to encounter a problem

with this (you just need to tell them what you need).

Just keep moving forward Zap, use these beginning weeks as a learning

experience and don't expect perfection, we are human and incapable of

perfection but progress we can accomplish.

Now sit down and journal about what went wrong this week and how you

might better handle situations like this in the future.

May 10, 2004

I have something that is working great for chicken breasts and potatoes, both

sweet and white. When I grill chicken for the family, I always throw a few

extra breasts on the grill. I use an outdoor grill only as I think the indoor

grills make chicken taste like rubber. I season with whatever I feel like at

that time and varies greatly. I place the extras in individual sandwich bags

and then bag all those in a large bag and freeze. I grab one out of the freezer

at night and they are ready to eat by lunch the next morning. If I am heating

it up, I cut it into bite sized pieces and they heat fast and don't dry out at

all. Tastes just as good as the freshly grilled does. For potatoes I'll cook

an extra one or two. Or, since so many potatoes are larger than my fist, I save

the extra portion to heat with my chicken. It's not hard to find sweet potatoes

that are big enough for two servings. Works well for a quick lunch at work.

Oh, I add a bag of Butter Lettuce blended salad and my favorite low cal, low fat

dressing and I'm set. It's also easy to eat this same meal at a restaurant.

Everyone serves grilled chicken now and I'll just eat it without the bread along

with a baked potato with only salt/pepper and a small side salad.

I hear you about weekends though. During the week where I have a set schedule I

have no problems getting in my meals and getting them on time. But the weekends

are all off kilter. I get up a lot later and most days my breakfast isn't eaten

till my usual first mid-meal time. Then, there's no telling when we'll get

around to eating lunch and dinner. I try to keep bars around for my afternoon

mid meal but often times we're gone longer than I planned and I have nothing

with me. I still try to get it in right and always have my free day a weekend

day, usually Saturday since they are generally busier. Each week I seem to

learn something to try and hopefully, eventually, my weekend meals will be as

good and planned as my weekday meals are.

Re: frustrated already!

Excellent advice Seattle Ladie!

I concur! You are on week 2 Zap (I'll call you that becasue I don't

know your real name).

I restarted BFL 5 times over 5 years before I completed one

challenge. It was completely detrimental because not only is it

harder to make that commitement over and over again feeling that you

have previously failed but for me it took me on the slippery yoyo

dieting slope. By the time I started challenge 5 I weighed 195, in

1999 when I started cahllenge one I weighed 155, Scary isn't it!

Don't do this to yourself.

As for food yep you need to mix it up. I use salsa and balsamic

vinegar daily. I eat my chicken breasts cold on a bed of greens, and

I use BBQ suace when I cook them.

Plan! Plan! Plan! Eat before you go to an event, pack your lunches

the night before. If you must eat out choose wisely, ask the server

if they can customize your meal, I have yet to encounter a problem

with this (you just need to tell them what you need).

Just keep moving forward Zap, use these beginning weeks as a learning

experience and don't expect perfection, we are human and incapable of

perfection but progress we can accomplish.

Now sit down and journal about what went wrong this week and how you

might better handle situations like this in the future.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 10, 2004

I used to be the QUEEN of sleeping late on weekends, but with BFL, I

have just found it easier to get up at the same time as during the

week. Now, I'll take a brief afternoon nap but still get to the gym

in the morning-it helps with my meal timing too. I have found if I

sleep in those 2 days, it kills me for Monday. I just have to keep

my body/mind used to up at 6 or 7am-no excuses! Just my choice!

gina

> I hear you about weekends though. During the week where I have a

set schedule I have no problems getting in my meals and getting them

on time. But the weekends are all off kilter. I get up a lot later

and most days my breakfast isn't eaten till my usual first mid-meal

time. Then, there's no telling when we'll get around to eating lunch

and dinner. I try to keep bars around for my afternoon mid meal but

often times we're gone longer than I planned and I have nothing with

me. I still try to get it in right and always have my free day a

weekend day, usually Saturday since they are generally busier. Each

week I seem to learn something to try and hopefully, eventually, my

weekend meals will be as good and planned as my weekday meals are.

> ----- Original Message -----

>

May 10, 2004

I understand what you are saying but I get up at 5:00 am during the week to get

my workout in and have breakfast and be at work by 8:00. I just can't do that

on the weekend. I don't sleep horribly late but it's not out of the question

for me to sleep till 8:00 or even 8:30. If you ask me, that's still pretty darn

early but already, my weekend schedule is different from the weekday. Not to

mention that we don't get on bed as early on the weekends due to social

activities. Plus DH would shoot me if I set the alarm for 5:00 on the weekends

We're out running around on the weekends so I don't know how to fit in a nap.

Kudos to you and your family for finding time for that. We just have to squeeze

in too much " stuff " on our two short days off to spend time napping.